5 ways Civil Society made COP30 the People’s COP
COP30 proved to be challenging from Day 1, from sky-rocketing housing prices to infrastructure failures, but in light of this, the community banded together and made COP30 feel like the People’s COP.
December 2, 2025
COP30 proved to be challenging from Day 1, from sky-rocketing housing prices to infrastructure failures, but in light of this, the community banded together and made COP30 feel like the People’s COP. We the People rose above by:
1. Creating third spaces to uplift grassroots and indigenous voices. From Midia Indigena’s Casa Maraka to the People’s COP and the Free Zone, these spaces enabled creatives, organizers, and policymakers alike from grassroots and indigenous communities to co-create content, showcase films, sell their crafts, strategize, and socialize. More often than not, they had at least bilingual programming, in Portuguese and English, and made other efforts to engage local communities and educate them about COP30 and climate impacts in the region. These third spaces were essential for fostering community, supporting mental and physical health, and creating a sense of belonging.
2. Sharing key information across WhatsApp groups and other platforms. At Youth Climate Collaborative, we create a yearly “COP Friends” group, which always reaches max capacity (~1025 people), and everyone is so helpful to each other. From sharing advice on appealing visa rejections, to finding affordable housing, to sourcing paid photography gigs, it is a mini-market and social network. Many of us even found out about the fire evacuation first through WhatsApp! These informal chats allowed for mutual aid, a feeling of safety and togetherness, and a spirit of collective action.
3. Mobilizing in masses. We showed up and showed out - organizing peaceful protests, actions, and marches to use the strength of numbers to raise awareness about key issues like indigenous land sovereignty and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza both locally and in the press. We understood the power of the media to have our voices reach global audiences. Many peers also spent months organizing giant caravans of people from Mesoamerica and Indigenous communities to be present at COP30. Without these efforts led by dedicated leaders on extremely tight budgets, these critical voices would have been missing from critical climate negotiations about them. As the saying goes, nothing about us, without us! I was in awe of these efforts.
4. Working hand-in-hand with locals. The people of Belem, Belenenses, welcomed us to their beautiful city of mangos, immersing us in their rich culture, including Carimbo and Brega dances, dishes with the tingling Jambu plant, fresh acai (surprisingly bitter) from Mercado Ver-o-peso, and breezy boat rides to Combu Island. With open arms, they helped us find housing, spaces to host our events, caterers, and went above and beyond at times. For example, three locals who had been helping me for months greeted me at 5am at the Belem airport and took me out to breakfast. I felt so welcomed in Belem and could really feel the excitement from locals to teach us about their culturally rich city.
5. Practicing resilience. I know that we the people did not get everything we wanted, not even close, and seeing this deemed as the People’s COP, the COP of Implementation, the Indigenous People’s COP, and finally the COP of Truth by institutional actors with a lack of adequate follow through was disappointing. But when I look at this COP from my perspective, as the leader of a global youth-led organization, and see all of the blood, sweat, and tears poured in by civil society, I am in awe of everyone’s selfless dedication and fervent effort, and this is an understatement. This COP was so stressful and challenging for many of us, but we really just held our heads high and pushed through.
-Pooja Tilvawala, Young Leaders Alum
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